Written by Brendan Adkins, Diane Glewwe, James Silverstein, Gaylord Tang, and Steve Vig
2 hours, includes 8 to 9 characters
Who Killed High Hat? is a darkly humorous game about horrible people possibly losing everything and probably learning nothing, while drinking heavily.
It’s the day of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, and High Hat, the horse everyone said was going to win the Triple Crown, has died under suspicious circumstances with one hoof inside the starting gate! The media gathers while race officials determine how to handle this unprecedented “photo start”. The owner’s family and assorted guests, in all their race-day finery, have gathered in a private VIP bar at the track, with a few short hours before the press hounds them for the “real story”. Best to quickly sort the story of fault amongst yourselves before people’s reputations, fortunes, and honor get scrutinized in public. And get a drink to settle rattled nerves.
All characters are written gender neutral. Each player defines their character's sex and gender as they choose, meaning that all in-game relationships may be same-sex or different-sex. The setting is contemporary. Drinking is a required in-game mechanic to help things get worse.
Content Warnings: crime, divorce, drinking, gambling, killing a horse, marital infidelity, same-sex and different-sex relationships, selfish and self-serving behavior, the threat of violence.
Players must be 18 or older.